Chapter 67

“Duryodhana said, ‘In all the worlds Vasudeva is spoken of as the SupremeBeing. I desire, O Grandsire, to know his origin and glory.”

“Bhishma said, ‘Vasudeva is the Supreme Being. He is the God of all Gods.None superior to him of eyes like lotus-petals is to be seen, O bull ofBharata’s race. Markandeya speaketh of Govinda as the Most Wonderful andthe Most high, as the All-being, as the All-soul, as the Highest soul,and as the Supreme male Being. Water, Air, and Fire,–these three werecreated by Him. That Divine Master and Lord of all the worlds createdthis Earth. That Supreme Being of illustrious soul laid himself down onthe waters. And that Divine Being made up of all kinds of energy sleptthereon in Yoga. From his mouth He created Fire, and from his breath, theWind. Of unfading glory, He created from his mouth Speech and the Vedas.It was thus that he created first the Worlds and also the gods along withthe diverse classes of Rishis. And he created decay and death also of allcreatures, as well as birth and growth. He is Righteousness and ofrighteous soul. He is the giver of boons and the giver of all (our)wishes. He is the Actor and Action, and He is himself the DivineMaster.[387] He first made the Past, the Present, and the Future; He isthe Creator of the Universe. He is of illustrious soul; He is the Masterpossessed of unfading glory. He created Sankarshana, the First-born ofall creatures. He created the divine Sesha who is known as Ananta and whoupholdeth all creatures and the Earth with her mountains. Of SupremeEnergy, He it is whom the regenerate ones know by Yoga meditation. Sprungfrom the secretions of his ear, the great Asura known by the name ofMadhu, fierce and of fierce deeds and entertaining a fierce intent andabout to destroy Brahman, was slain by that Supreme Being. And O sire, inconsequence of Madhu’s slaughter, the gods, the Danavas, and humanbeings, and Rishis, call Janardana the slayer of Madhu. He is the greatBoar. He is the great Lion, and He is the Three-stepped Lord.[388] He isthe Mother and the Father of all living creatures. There never was, norwill be, any superior to Him of eyes like lotus-petals. From His mouth Hecreated the Brahmanas: and from His two arms the Kshatriyas, and from Histhighs, O king, He created the Vaisyas, and from His feet He created theSudras. One waiting dutifully on Him, observant of vows with asceticausterities on days of the full-moon and the new-moon, is sure to obtainthe Divine Kesava, that refuge of all embodied creatures that essence ofBrahma and of Yoga. Kesava is the higher Energy, the Grandsire of all theworlds. Him, O king, the sages call Hrishikesa (the lord of the senses).Him also should all know as the Preceptor, the Father, and the Master.Inexhaustible regions (of blessedness) are won by him with whom Krishnais gratified. He also who, in a place of fear, seeketh the protection ofKesava, and he who frequently readeth this description, becometh happyand endued with every prosperity. Those men who attain to Krishna arenever beguiled, Janardana always saveth those that are sunk in greatterrors. Knowing this truly, O Bharata, Yudhishthira, with his wholesoul, O king, hath sought the shelter of the highly blessed Kesava, theLord of Yoga, and the Lord of the Earth.”